Episode 19: Switzerland, Panama, Patriotism and the Design of Flags
Flags have existed for thousands of years and are arguably the most well-known symbols for countries, cities and movements. They come in different shapes and sizes with distinctive designs and colors influenced by both patriotism, military association and legend. Today we discuss a couple of our favorites from Switzerland and Panama.
E X T R A S :
(Top to bottom): Current design for the national flag of Switzerland, proportions for the cross and overall flag
Flag of Switzerland
History of the flag of Switzerland (Wikipedia article)
“The Swiss Flag: Meaning and History” (Life in Switzerland article)
History of Switzerland (Geschichte der Schweiz article)
(Top to bottom): Current design for the national flag of Panama, the proposed Bunau-Varilla flag design
Flag of Panama (Bandera de Panamá)
History of the flag of Panama (Wikipedia article)
“What Is the Meaning and History of the Panama Flag?” (Panama Life Insider article)
“Panama Flag Review” (YouTube video)
Further Reading:
National Flag (Wikipedia article)
Redesigning the Utah state flag (New York Times article)
Listener Corrections:
Turns out there are all sorts of different official and non-official size ratios for flags, per this Wikipedia article sent to us by alert listener Dejan Mraovic. Хвала!